Happy Holidays From Whistler British Columbia!

Hola Amigos!
Well we have made it home safe and sound and it sure is emotional looking back at the blog and all the photos.

We arrived back at Whistler safe and sound and yes there was snow on our front door step.  This certainly was different from the 32 degree weather we left behind in Buenos Aires but we are thrilled to be back in our own place again.  Gary is very excited to be skiing and I can't wait to get in some good turns on the mountain as well.  As you can see from the photo our bags made it back safe and sound and we did have to expand a bit in order to fit all of our treasures from South America.

We have seen many of you already and we just wanted to say Thank You for following our blog.  We have had some wonderful compliments and it has been a great experience writing the blog and getting all of our adventures recorded.  The spanish keyboards are different and it sure can be a challenge sometimes getting the photos to load but we persevered and we are just thrilled with the results.

It is totally impossible to describe our trip but the photos sure do help.  In the spirit of the Holidays I've tried to think of some way to summarize the trip and I'm going to use loosely the 12 Days of Christmas song to tie everything together.  Here goes:

7 Boarder Crossings between Chile and Argentina
(1. Bolivia/San Pedro, 2. San Pedro/Salta, 3. Mendoza/Santiago, 4. Santiago/Bariloche, 5. Bariloche/Puerto Varas, 6. Puerto Natales/El Calafate, 7. Punta Arenas/Ushuaia)

6 Countries
1. Colombia, 2. Equador, 3. Peru, 4. Bolivia, 5. Chile, 6. Argentina

5 Months Travelling
July - December 2012

4 Boat Cruises
1. Galapagos, 2. Cruce de Lagos, 3. Navimag, 4. Australis (our personal favourite)

3 Mountain Adventures
1. WMDR World's Most Dangerous Road, 2. Refugio Frey, 3. Torres del Paine

2 Islands
Galapagos and Easter Island

1 Awesome Loving Husband - still! after all that!

Here is another stat and a link to a map so you can see exactly where we have been.  We traveled a total of 29,268 kms in South America on our trip. It  was a little hard to fit that into a Christmas Carol...
Check out this map with our route.  Gary has detailed all the places we were so you can see our itinerary. It is pretty cool.

 http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm?user=patbrowne

So now we are home and it is very strange to be able to understand what everyone is saying to us.  We can converse with the locals and make ourselves understood perfectly here in Whistler!  The Dusty's scene is full on and we are enjoying lots of wonderful snow.

We thank you again for following us and we wish you all the best for the New Year 2012!  May all of your dreams come true!

Cheers,
Pat and Gary
Official South American Travellers!

Iguazu Falls and Buenos Aires

Hola Amigos,

As we neared the end of our wonderful South America adventure, we were able to zip up to the very northern part of Argentina and see one of the  most incredible water falls in the world - Iguazu Falls.  You can see them from both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides and they are truly fantastic.  I think they are considered the second most important waterfalls in the world with Victoria Falls in Africa being number one and our very own Niagara Falls in Canada coming in third.

The falls are basically located in the Jungle and there are beautiful butterflies everywhere.  One landed on my arm and stayed for a while and Gary had one land on his backpack.  There are incredible walkways all around the waterfalls so it is really easy to see them from the top and bottom.  The movie the Mission with Robert DeNiro was filmed here back in the eighties and the scenery is simply spectacular.

Swarovski Crystal Tree

After three days in Iguazu we flew to Buenos Aires for the last bit of our trip.  We ended up renting an apartment right downtown and it was wonderful.  We went to visit Eva Peron's grave in the Recoleta Cemetary and we saw a live Tango Dance show as well.  We saw the famous Boca Soccer stadium and then a fun highlight was seeing a real Argentinian Soccer game in the big huge stadium.  We saw River Plate play Rosario and it was quite the scene.  People were singing and waving banners throughout the entire game.  We had to make sure we wore the right colours and sit in the right section of the stadium.

Buenos Aires is a fantastic city and we managed to see the symphony in the beautiful Theatro Colon which is the last great opera house built before modern times.  The sound quality rates the highest in the world and our tickets cost less than a burger lunch at McDonalds.  It was funny watching all the Christmas decorations get put up in the city because it was 32 degrees and sunny and warm while we were there.  It sure didn't feel like the snowy Christmases we have in Canada but it was fun listening to Christmas Carols in Starbucks.
We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and we would like to wish you all the Best for the New Year 2012!
We are going to do one last post to wrap up this blog and finish everything up.
Feliz Navidad!
Pat and Gary

Cape Horn, The End of the World, and Penguins!

Hola Amigos!
We achieved our goal of getting to the very end of the world on November 11, 2011 (an auspicious date no doubt) when we set foot on Cape Horn, Chile at the very tip of the southern hemisphere.  We took a cruise boat to get there and it was a real thrill to be able to land on this piece of rock and add our name into the book of souls who have been here at the Lighthouse.

Cape Horn, November 11, 2011

We landed very early in the morning (7:00am) and were able to walk around the trails for a bit. This place is very historic and there are plaques to Sir Charles Darwin, Sir Robert Scott, Sir Ernest Shackelton and others who were brave explorers to the end of the world and the Antarctic.  We met the lighthouse keeper and his family who lives here and we were able to revel in our suceess at getting to this very special place.  We had been travelling 131 days to get here and we made it safe and sound.

Johnny Walker and 600 Year Old Glacier Ice

The cruise ship we took out of Punta Arenas in Chile is called the Australis and it has 64 cabins.  It was a real pleasure to be able to travel to the Cape this way.  We met some absolutely wonderful people on this trip and there are too many stories to tell for this little blog.  Here we are on the shore drinking Johnny Walker with Glacier Ice that is 600 years old.  Even though it was 10:30 in the morning and I don't drink Scotch, I figured I would simply hunker down and give it a try.  It is actually not bad stuff at all - maybe it was the glacier ice that made it taste so good...

Magellenic Penguins Chile

No trip so far south to this part of the world would be complete without seeing Penguins and we had the thrill of getting this close to them in Zodiac boats.  We were not allowed to land on shore but we took the boats in as close as we could and the penguins didn't really seem to care if we were there or not. These are Magellanic penguins and they are very cute.  They were waddling around and swimming in the water right beside us.  It was just great to see real penugins in their natural habitat.

Cape Horn Chart from Australis

This is the chart that the Captain used to get us to Cape Horn.  We got up at 5:00am so that we could go to the Bridge and watch the arrival of the Horn before we took the Zodiacs over and landed on it.  This chart has an incredible amount of history to it now because it was auctioned off later that evening and our new friends from Germany are going to share it with us.  They have taken it to Germany to start with and we have promised to come and get it within two years.  They will then come to Canada to visit us and the chart will be shared by us forever.  Sort of like a time share but better. We can't wait to tell the whole story and share all the details.

We are now in Buenos Aires enjoying the last bit of our trip.  There probably won't be that many more blog posts as our trip starts to wind down and we prepare to come back to Winter and reality in Vancouver. Do keep your eyes peeled for our next updates as there will be some more posts and a final wrap up to finish the blog.
We hope all is very well with everyone as they prepare for the Holidays!
More to come,
Pat & Gary

Patagonia, Boats, Mountains, Glaciers and Wind

Hola Amigos!
We have just spent some time in Southern Patagonia on both the Chilean and Argentinian sides.  We have now crossed the Argentine and Chilean boarder 6 times and we are still not done yet.

Navimag Freighter Puerto Natales Chile

 We took the Navimag boat from Puerto Montt in Chile for 4 days down to Puerto Natales which is at 51 degrees latitude south.  It is a working cargo ship and we were 143 passengers for the trip.  We met some hilarious French folks along with some Slovenians who all became our new best friends for the trip.  We sailed through the beautiful Chilean fijords and saw some terrific scenery along with a humpback whale.  We sailed through the 49 parallel south and it is getting colder as we go down but we are chasing the Spring weather so everything has been fine so far. 

Mirador de Torres del Paine Chile

We went to the famous Torres del Paine National Park in Chile and stayed overnight for 2 nights.  We hiked up to the Mirador de Torres del Paine and we were lucky enough to see the towers at the top.  It was hailing near the top of the trail and it took us 7 hours to get to the top and back.  We experienced the Patagonian wind up close and personal.  People tell you about the wind, you hear about it, read about it and imagine it, but until you hike 7 hours in it you cannot know what this wind is all about.  There were times when we were blown backwards off the trial and at other times it blew so hard it was difficult to breathe!

Massif de Torres del Paine Chile

 Here we are in the Torres del Paine park looking at the Torres Massif mountain.  It is right beside the Cuernos de Torres which we saw as well.  There are active glaciers on this mountain and we heard the ice crack and saw a big huge chunk fall down while we were there.  We just loved the Park although we have to say that it is very very expensive to visit this part of the world.  The Southern part of Chile thinks it is Switzerland and the prices match - everything is at least 3-5 times more than what we have been paying so far. 

Perito Moreno Glacier El Calafate Argentina

We crossed over into El Calafate in Argentina to see the famous Perito Moreno glacier and did we ever luck out.  The sun came out just as we got there and we got to see it up close from a boat.  Sort of like the Maid of the Mist but with a huge glacier instead of a waterfall.  This is the 3rd biggest glacier in South America and it covers the same area as the city of Buenos Aires.  It is simply huge and it ranges from 40 to 70 metres in height.  It is difficult to imagine the scale of it.  The blue ice was simply beautiful and the shapes are just like something out of the movie Superman.  We heard the ice moving and saw some little pieces calve off.


We will now continue to move south and head for Ushuaia in Argentina which is considered the end of the world.
Much more to come
Salud,
Pat and Gary 

Bariloche Argentina

Hola Buenas Dias,
Here are some photos from what we have been up to lately.

Cerro Campanario Bariloche

We spent two wonderful weeks in Bariloche Argentina.  It is normally a very beautiful place but right now the area is suffering from the ash (ceniza in Spanish) that is still spewing from a volcano in Chile about 40 kms from here.  We have been very selective in our photos because as long as the wind was blowing the right way we were able to see and breathe.  The ash dust is very fine and it gets into absolutely everything making it difficult to see and breathe when the wind picks up.  Since Bariloche is  considered the official northern beginning of Patagonia there is most definitely wind around and it certainly is a challenge for the folks living here.

Refugio Frey 

As you can see in this photo we did get clear skies at a place called Refugio Frey which is well away from any volcano ash and in a very beautiful spot right behind the Catedral skiing area.  We rented sleeping bags and hiked up for 4 hours to get to the refugio where we stayed overnight.  Since it is Spring here we did hit some snow for the last half hour of our hike.  Our super duper running shoes got a bit of a workout and I did manage to fall through some snow that came all the way up to my thigh at one point but we made it and had a great time staying overnight. Gary looks very much like a mountain man here and he has the stubble to match.

Refugio Frey Patagonia Argentina

Juan and Sebastian are the two caretakers that work at the refugio and they both worked at Whistler as ski instructors two years ago. Juan made the best pizza we have had in Argentina and we just had a hoot chatting with these guys who are living the dream in an Alpine hut in Argentina.  The altitude here is 1811 metres but what was really amazing was the famous Patagonia wind which we felt for the first time.  It certainly is a force to be reckoned with especially at 3:00 am when you have to go outside to the bathroom.  

Volcano Osorno Chile

We left Bariloche via the Cruce de Lagos trip which takes you by bus and boat and bus and boat and yet another bus and boat combo into Puerto Varas Chile. We saw beautiful lakes and mountains on the way but the highlight was this volcano which is the Osorno Volcano in Chile.  It is a perfect cone and we were very lucky to see it.  You can ski here in the winter but now all you can do is gaze upon its loveliness. 

We are looking forward to getting onto a cargo freighter in Puerto Montt Chile that will take us all the way down to Puerto Natales in the south.  We are getting ready to see glaciers and penguins in the next little bit as we move to the southern degrees of latitude.

Much more to come! 

Pat and Gary 

Santiago Skiing and Wine Tasting

Hola Amigos! Que tal? (means What's Up - notice my huge improvement in the Spanish Language!)

Skiing at Valle Nevados Chile

We wanted to share some of our recent Chilean adventures with you.  We went Skiing at the Valle de Nevados just outside of Santiago Chile right at the end of their ski season and we managed to catch a blue bird sky day to hit the slopes.  It was pretty warm and the snow was schmooy which is typical of Spring Skiing anywhere but it sure was fun to ski in the Andes mountains and see the beautiful views.  Gary was happy to get Day 1 of skiing in for the season.

Wine Tasting at LFE

We also managed to visit some amazing Chilean wineries and we have been drinking wonderful Chilean wine at every opportunity.  We went to the Santa Cruz wine region just south of Santiago and we had some wonderful tours of the wineries high up in the hills.  One of our favourite experiences was an outside tasting in the vineyards really high up at Luis Felipe Edwards.  The view was spectacular and so were the wines.  We then visited Estampa vineyards as well and enjoyed their fabulous wines. This region experienced a lot of damage from the Feb 2010 earthquake so it was very interesting talking with all the vineyard folks to see what happened.  We had a bit of an adventure getting to the wineries because our rental car had a flat tire and we were not sure if we would actually make it to the vineyards or not.  We managed to pull into a small town off the highway and we felt like Indy Car drivers because the 4 guys who patched our tire did it in record time and it cost 4 dollars.  We still don't know how to say flat tire in Spanish but hand signals and pointing at the obvious can get you pretty far sometimes.

Capsule that saved Chilean Miners Valparaiso

We went to Valparaiso just west of Santiago on the coast and we saw the harbour and all the painted houses on the winding streets.  Valparaiso is a huge port city and the Naval presence is everywhere.  We visited the Naval museum and we saw the capsule that the Navy used to save the 33 trapped miners in the Northern Chilean Atacama Desert mine last year.  It was the one year anniversary of the accident so they had the capsule on display for everyone to crawl into and look at.

We found this cross made out of wine barrels in Santa Cruz wine country where we stayed and we thought it was just a perfect use for empty barrels.
We will now continue to move south as we target the end of the world and Ushuaia.

More tales to come!
Salud,
Pat and Gary

Rapa Nui - Easter Island

Hello Everyone,
We had a simply fantastic time in Rapa Nui -Easter Island. It is a truly special tiny place in the middle of nowhere.  It took almost 6 hours to fly to Rapu Nui from Santiago Chile.  The island is only 24 kms long by 12 kms wide so it is very easy to get around and not get lost. We had amazing warm weather and we were able to tour around and visit all the famous sites on the island in wonderful warm sunshine. The most famous sites to see are the huge Moai statues which are found all over the island. They are simply massive and are made of solid stone. It is one of the world's big mysteries as to how these statues got moved onto their platforms by the sea and after we saw them we had more questions than answers.  Maybe it was the aliens who put them here after all - who knows!

Rano Raraku Quarry on Rapa Nui 

Here we are at the Quarry where the Moai statues were carved. The Moai statues behind us are actully covered up to their necks in dirt which has accumulated over the centuries.  These are full statues and they are very very big.  One of the other mysteries on Rapa Nui is why all of a sudden the people stopped making and moving the statues.  These ones were all in transit down to the coast but for some reason they were simply abandoned and the wind and landslides have filled in the dirt around them. It is a really strange experience to see these deserted statues and wonder what the heck happened here many hundreds of years ago.

Tongariki Rapa Nui at Sunrise

Believe it or not we actually got up early enough in the morning to see the sunrise over these Moai. Anyone who knows me well understands that I am simply not a morning person so that will tell you how important it is to see the sunrise over these statues.  If you don´t believe in powers or spirits of some kind, seeing these statues could change your mind.  There is some sort of weird energy here and you can't help but contemplate the meaning of life when you look at them.  We visited Rapa Nui during the low season so we actually had this entire site to ourselves one morning.  We felt very priviledged to be able to come here and see all this just by ourselves.

Anakena Beach Rapa Nui 

This beautiful beach is near the top of the island and it is where the original settlers first arrived.  The sand is like sugar and perfectly white.  The water is turquoise and crystal clear. There is a restored platform with 7 Moai statues in this picture and it is one of the most important archeological sites on the island.  The weather was nice and warm without any humidity which all combined to make this one of the best beaches I´ve ever been to in my life.  The awesome banana cake and beer sold by one of the vendors here rounded out the whole beach experience.

We have to admit that we left Rapa Nui with a lump in our throats.  We were able hike to the highest point on the island and get a great view of everything.  When we left we were given a feather and a shell. The feather is meant to bring us back some day and when we do that we are to throw the shell back into the sea where it belongs.  Rapa Nui is really a very special place and we can highly recommend it.

We now fly back to Santiago and start moving south.
More news to come very soon!
Cheers,
Pat and Gary